The "Robinson" boys on Hua Na lake

Exploring the deserted island

Hua Na is the second largest hydroelectric reservoir in Nghe An and there was also a migration of more than 1,400 households due to the impact of the reservoir. We visited Dong Van on the days when people here were racing against time to move their belongings and houses to their new place in early 2012.

For over a year now, Lang Van Mao has been single-handedly exploring a deserted island in the middle of Hua Na Lake. Photo: Ho Phuong

After 6 years, most of the people have settled down. They don’t have to go to a far away place like the people in Ban Ve lake area (Tuong Duong district). We stopped at Pieng Van village, a Thai community next to Hua Na hydroelectric lake.

Looking down from the highway, the lake surface seemed to be calm and still. A quiet picture of the mountains and forests where time seemed to have stopped.

Over the years, many people have come to learn about the determination and economic methods of the young man Lang Van Mao. Photo: TL

Lang Van Mao, a 31-year-old man from Pieng Van village, walked briskly up the slope, on the path leading down to the lake. His small stature and the quick steps of a hunter, Mao was standing in front of us in a flash. I learned about Lang Van Mao through a recent online article. That article compared him to the literary character Robinson Crusoe by the 17th century English writer Daniel Defoe.

Mao is a young Thai man who is quite active in communication. He showed me a green area in front of him, about a kilometer from the lake shore. That was Robinson's island. We got to the island quite easily by motorboat. On the island there was a wooden stilt house with a thatched roof. He lived there with his wife and their 2-year-old daughter.

However, if compared, Mao and his family's life seems more similar to the Wiliam family in the famous novel "Growing Up on a Deserted Island" by Johann Wyss than Robinson who was alone for a long time on a deserted island in the middle of the ocean.

Ms. Vi Thi Tuat, Lang Van Mao's wife, is a rare woman living on a deserted island. She brought her 2-year-old daughter along to help her husband explore this place. Photo: Huu Vi

The boat docked and we realized that the lifestyle of the owner of the stilt house on the island was no different from that of the Thai households in nearby Pieng Van village. Under the stilt house, chickens were roaming around looking for food. Around the house, the owner planted vegetables and native plants. That day’s meal was not only for Mao’s family but also for other young friends. They were also the ones who explored the deserted island like Lang Van Mao.

During the lunch conversation, Mao told about his journey to the deserted island. He had planned to pursue a military career, but his family’s circumstances did not allow him to stay in the military environment for long. Then he returned to fishing in the lake to sell to private traders. At first, the small island of only a few hectares was where he chose to live and store his fishing gear. Later, realizing that this place could “do more things”, he decided to build a hut to make a farm.

Fishing and cutting bamboo are the livelihoods of Lang Van Mao and those living on the islands in the middle of the lake. Photo: Ho Phuong

Currently, the Thai man mainly lives by fishing and exploiting bamboo. Mao has about 3 hectares of bamboo that he fences off, protects, and divides into 3 small plots, each year only exploiting 1 plot. With this method, the bamboo will not be exhausted, every 2 years, when the bamboo trees are old, he will return to the divided plot to exploit.

According to Mao, he earns 300,000 - 500,000 VND per day from selling bamboo. Mao's family also earns about the same amount from selling fish.

Promise of tomorrow

Here, we had the opportunity to meet another “Robinson”, Phan Van Bay, a guy born in 1990 from Hanh Tien village, Chau Tien commune (Quy Chau). Bay came to Hua Na lake village just over a month ago, he invested over 100 million VND to go to Hanoi to buy purebred wild boars, buy a boat as a means of transportation and fishing. Then he cleared the land himself, built a hut and set up a farm.

For nearly a month now, Phan Van Bay (red shirt) has also gone to a deserted island to open a farm. Photo: Huu Vi

Purebred wild boar is Mr. Bay's main livestock. Photo: Xuan Thuy

After an afternoon of wandering around the lake, Phan Van Bay invited us to visit his island, less than 10 minutes away by motorboat from Lang Van Mao's island. Bay and his three servants live in an empty hut surrounded by a wire mesh, with only the kitchen having walls.

The source of electricity for lighting was a car battery. Currently, everyone was working hard to build their "business". From clearing trees, clearing land, to building barns, everyone seemed to forget the time. The radio running on batteries was the only way to get information from outside.

The two "Robinsons" prepare dinner. Photo: Ho Phuong

It is expected that by mid-2019, Bay's farm will start generating income. In addition to wild boars, Bay also raises chickens and goats. He plans to plant corn along the banks during the flood season to serve livestock.

We spent another night in the jungle on our work trips. But this was the first time we experienced a night on a deserted island in the middle of a hydroelectric lake. In the almost absolute quiet space, sleep came gently, the warm blankets helped us not to worry about the early winter cold.

Waking up, we suddenly thought about young people like Lang Van Mao and Phan Van Bay - people who found the meaning of life in this floating river and lake. Here, for young people who dare to think and dare to do, finding a bright future on a deserted island can be considered within reach.